About I4H

Innovation4Health is a catalyst for innovation. There are many challenges just waiting to be solved, but often healthcare professionals, caregivers and patients do not have the resources, expertise, or time to address them. On the other hand, there are many skilled individuals that are eager to innovate, but don't know where to start. Our mission is to connect innovators with real-world challenges in human and veterinary healthcare to address inefficiencies and barriers to wellness for all.

The annual Health Hack Competition is I4H's flagship program that occurs at the University of Calgary, typically in the Fall semester. Focusing on a different theme each year, it brings multidisciplinary teams together with healthcare expertise and empowers them with mentorship and rapid prototyping facilities to address challenges in healthcare with technology solutions.

MISSION

Be the catalyst for healthcare innovation through collaboration between stakeholders in healthcare. Our mission is to bridge the gap between innovators, healthcare professionals, and healthcare users so that innovative ideas can emerge. We accomplish this by bringing together multidisciplinary innovators to form teams around real-world healthcare challenges, then facilitate the development of working solutions through a fast-paced makeathon event.

MOTIVATION

The University of Calgary and partner organizations in the Calgary community foster a great environment innovation in healthcare. Some examples of this include the Cumming School of Medicine’s TENET i2c pitch-style competition, the W21C Innovation Academy, the GSA Innovation Development Awards, and entrepreneurial training programs provided by Innovate Calgary. These initiatives and many more strongly encourage innovators to pursue developing and iterating their novel ideas through to commercialization.

Although these resources exist, there remains a gap in connecting innovative minds to experts who are familiar with the existing challenges faced in the medical sector. This is most clearly represented by the lack of biomedical startups present in Calgary, as opposed to other Canadian technology hubs like Vancouver or Toronto.

It is our belief that innovative ideas do not just happen – they come from intentional observation and opportunity identification. This is the gap we wish to fill with Innovation for Health.